“Marketers must use data, human insight to build long-term strategy”
By Ibidunni Banjoko
Marketing experts have tasked brand owners and custodians to ensure to employ both data and human insight in building out a long-term strategy.
Speaking on a panel at the Market Research Society’s Insight Alchemy conference held recently, Fiona Lovatt, the Coca-Cola Company’s Human Insights Director for nutrition in Europe, said that the realities of a brand manager’s role mean they often do not have the capacity to act strategically.
She noted that, although most marketers would profess to be strategic, the operational realities mean many simply are unable to be so in practice.
“I think if you walked in the shoes of a brand manager, a lot of people would be shocked at how operational and short-term that role can be. Matters such as managing the supply chain can make marketers get stuck ‘in the weeds’ and lack the time to focus on long-term thinking.
“It’s therefore easy for marketing teams to get caught in a trap of short-term decision-making. That creates space for agency partners to step in and help time-pressed marketers to develop the long-term strategy they need,” she said.
Lovatt concurred that for marketers and consumers, the world is more complex than it ever has been. She noted that, with so many distractions out there, strategy is important because it provides a thread to guide businesses through complex times.
“It is important to define what strategy isn’t. I think it’s really important to distinguish tactics and execution. The pandemic, followed by a financial crisis, has reiterated the importance of doing the basics really well. This means using insights to understand how consumers are feeling, particularly during an ever-shifting landscape, and adjusting strategy accordingly,” she added.
On her part, Fenny Léautier, head of Marketing Insights and Analytics for personal health, stated that health technology brand Philips is making a conscious effort to help its marketers be more consumer-focused and thus more strategic.
“The business is working to ensure its marketers have time to think about long-term strategy, as well as the human behind it. It is important for team members to spend time speaking to the consumer directly and not just focus on internal matters,” Léautier argued.
She added that strategic thinking has become increasingly important in an unpredictable world post-Covid and amid the cost-of-living crisis, as it presents an opportunity for brands to demonstrate their importance in the lives of consumers.
Léautier also believes human insight and technology should be used alongside one another. “The human aspect of strategy should also not be forgotten when it comes to speaking to internal stakeholders.
“In order to further their strategic goals, marketers need to have internal stakeholders on-side. This requires an emotional connection and an understanding of the relevant stakeholders,” she explained.
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